Contents

Non-profit organizations, or non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), endeavor to fill the gap between
government’s provision of services and local needs. Many
NGOs have recognized the need to improve their project
management and organizational development capabilities.
As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you facilitate the development
of a strong and effective organization by working
with key decision makers of local NGOs. You do not have
a preconceived set of answers, but have the skills, ideas
and knowledge to enable an organization to meet the
needs of the population served while balancing future
consequences. You work as an advisor to non-governmental
organizations that deal with the issues of environment,
youth, social services, or business development. In consultation
with the NGO to which you are assigned, you
mentor and train staff to do the following:

Provide technical assistance to NGOs to ensure sustainability and reduce dependency on a single financial source.

You need to have a variety of organizational skills and an ability to formulate a plan of action to help deal with a myriad of complex problems and scarce resources, as well as an ability to motivate the community and build consensus.
You must also keep in mind that your role is that of an adviser so that the organization will continue to sustain itself even after your departure. Your can-do attitude and your willingness to work with your hosts to find appropriate solutions will help people to help themselves.

Business Centers. Moldova is largely an
agricultural region and the second smallest of the former
Soviet republics. The small business sector is a major
force in economic development. Volunteers work with
organizational leaders to establish effective and efficient
systems to assure the sustainability of an organization.
They serve as trainers, advisors, and consultants and
provide advice and technical assistance on business and
organizational development.

Environment and Small Business. Volunteers
work with local environmental NGOs to strengthen
their institutional and administrative capacity and to
generate support for their conservation efforts. At the
same time, they are required to strike a balance between
economic development and basic human needs while
trying to preserve or restore natural ecosystems. To gain
a better financial footing, NGOs and Volunteers
fundraise through membership development and grant
proposal writing.

Urban Youth Development. Volunteers work
with local organizations that are addressing the problems
of urban street youth who are at risk of delinquency,
drugs, and prostitution. Some of the tasks Volunteers
perform include: establishing office and management
systems, designing training packages in organizational
skills development, assisting the agency to set up small
business units where street youth will be trained, developing
entrepreneurial skills of youth, and designing tools
to evaluate the agency’s program.
===Bulgaria=== NGO Advisor. Volunteers help “green” nongovernmental
organizations—many of which were at the
forefront of the democratic movement—to expand
awareness of environmental problems. Volunteers work
with local governments, national parks, government
agencies, environmental education institutions, NGOs,
and local businesses. Depending on the needs of the host
agency, Volunteers are involved in projects such as:
assisting in an agency’s long-term strategic plan, producing
environmental brochures, creating a donor and
membership database, developing community-based
environmental projects, forming linkages with local and
international environmental groups, and helping improve
staff’s English language skills.

Most NGO Development Volunteers are college graduates
with at least two years of management or organizational
development experience with non-profit organizations
either as staff or in a voluntary capacity. Recent
college graduates have experience as founders or leaders
of community or school-based organizations. Due to their
background in non-profit management, these Volunteers
have several of the following skills: